Steph's Super Sunday
by tuck
Summary: Babeish, one shot.


**AN: My own thoughts of food and Super Bowl commercials led to me thinking of Steph and food. So this little short wouldn't get out of my head. The story took on a different spin once it started, so anyway, here it is. I own nothing, it's just for fun. Babe but no Ranger appearance, sorry!**

Steph leaned against the doorway and looked around the room. Hector was along one wall wiring the sound system together. A brand new 52 inch plasma screen TV towered over him. Thankfully, Tank's apartment was slightly bigger than most, then again, everything relating to Tank was bigger than most.

She now turned towards Bobby, who was setting up a long table at the other end of the room. Once it was in place, he slid three coolers underneath. Hal walked out of the kitchen holding two large bags of ice. He handed one to Bobby and looked at his watch. "Pregame show starts at 1600, but we usually congregate at about 17:30. I already filled each cooler with a small amount of water to enable the proper ice/water ratio. We just need to add one half bag of ice to each cooler, for now." Hal poured half of the ice into one cooler and took the rest of the bag back into the kitchen. Bobby just stared after him for a minute before shaking his head.

Steph felt a pair of strong arms encircle her waist. Her feet left the ground as she was pulled up against an equally strong chest, and carried backwards into the hallway. "You're blocking the doorway, Beautiful." Lester set Steph back down, but continued to hold her back as Cal walked by carrying a few cases of beer. She relaxed in his arms, letting herself enjoy the comfort of his body against hers. She had been leaning on him a lot lately.

She was thankful it was a new month. January had started with a bang, though not literally, for once. She had broken up with Morelli on New Year's Day, and was determined to make it permanent this time. A new cell and phone number helped to keep the Burg off her back. Her mother had denied her cake, but Steph held her ground and stocked up on TastyKakes. Joe avoided her for about a week, and then finally confronted her at the bonds office. He implored, she refused. A few days later, he tried again. He accused, she denied. She knew he'd try again soon, but she felt stronger every day. She still hadn't gone back to her parents for dinner yet. Her mom would need more time.

Steph felt Lester's warm breath on her neck. "As nice as this is, we have a job to do."

She felt him smile against her ear before he released her. She turned to face him, hands on her hips, expression serious.

"Lester! **This isn't just a job. **This is one of the best things about Super Bowl Sunday!"

He rolled his eyes and placed a hand at the small of her back. "Should have known you only cared about the food, do you even know who's playing?" He gently nudged her forward, escorting her to the elevator.

Steph smacked his shoulder. "Of course I do. I like the Steelers, but Kurt Warner has a cute butt. Sometimes, I like to root for the underdog. I like it when the game is close, not a blow out."

She pushed the down button, turned to him and smiled. "But the game is not my favorite part, I love the commercials!"

Lester let out a laugh. "Don't get Bobby started! His impression of Terry Tate Office Linebacker is what got us thrown out of Ranger's apartment last year!"

Steph laughed. "That must have been a sight! Hey! Is that what happened to the floor lamp?"

Lester nodded. "Yeah. The Giants had won and we were pretty loaded. We've promised to pace ourselves this year." He shook his head at the memory.

The elevator opened and they both stepped inside. "My favorites are usually the Clydesdales. But, the Bud Light ads are usually great too." Steph pressed the button for the garage.

Lester smirked at her. "I seem to remember a Victoria's Secret ad once, but I'm usually grabbing food or fighting the guys over the bathroom, so I don't usually catch the commercials."

"I usually miss a few of them too. I found a great website with all the ads from the last 10 years on it. I'll have to mention it to Bobby." She paused. "Tomorrow." She smiled. "I wouldn't want to get us kicked out of Tank's place." Steph thought for a minute. "Since the party's on four this year, bathrooms shouldn't be an issue. Are any of the apartments open on four?"

Lester was glad she brought this up first. "No. Hal decided to move back in while his place is being remodeled. If you're not up to driving and feel like crashing here, you can stay in my room. I'll be fine on the couch." He smiled. "Tank's, or Bobby's if he throws us out."

The elevator opened to the garage and they walked over to Lester's truck. "Ranger had planned on joining us." He opened her door and turned to look at her. "Have you seen him since he got back?"

Steph held his gaze and smiled lightly. "He dropped in a few nights ago." She climbed into the truck. "He was a little annoyed that I didn't leave him my new number."

"Really?"

"Well." Steph tipped her head in thought. "He said "Babe." and quirked an eyebrow. I probably inferred the annoyance." She fastened her seatbelt. Lester chuckled and shut the door.

As he walked around the truck, he smiled remembering Ranger's call to him. He didn't have to infer anything. Ranger was worried when he couldn't get through to her on her cell. When Lester told him he had her new number, and the reason she changed it; Ranger went from worried, to pissed (_Lester_ had her new number), to impressed. That was an enormous amount of expressiveness for Ranger**, maybe that's some kind of record. **Lester chuckled again. He stepped into the truck and started the engine.

"I don't think he'll make it in time for the game." Steph smiled brightly. "He actually called before he left Friday, and told me he was going to Newark for a few days. He said his mother wasn't happy that he had missed all the holidays this season." She paused. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he sounded a little apprehensive about seeing her. I was so shocked that he was actually sharing with me, I didn't give it much thought at the time."

Lester pulled out of the garage and began heading towards Shorty's. "Tia Maria can be quite intimidating. She knows how his life is, but he doesn't visit as often as they would like. She probably threatened to stop making him flan."

Steph gaped at Lester. He gave her an innocent smile and then returned his gaze to the road.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That he liked flan?" He teased.

"That you're related!"

Lester pulled to a stop at the traffic light. He turned towards Steph and took her hand in his.

"Beautiful." He kissed her palm and gave her his most charming smile. "How do you think I get away with all the flirting? He can't risk putting a serious hurting on me and having Abuela find out about it." Steph blushed, but her eyes narrowed once he mentioned their grandmother.

"So why tell me now? You've apparently have been careful to avoid it before." He released her hand and turned into the parking lot. He put the truck in park and turned to face her once more.

"Because I'm calling his bluff. You've sent Morelli packing, for good this time. Ranger needs to step up. And I plan on seeing to it that he does." He kissed her on the cheek. "Now, let's go get our order." Lester got out of the truck and came around to open her door.

Steph got out and followed Lester inside. A small smile was on her face. February was shaping up to be a fabulous month!

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AN: Here's the link to the Super Bowl Ads site mentioned above. Congrats to the Steelers, but I was really disappointed in this year's commercials. Check out 2003, for the Terry Tate ad, he'd fit right in at Rangeman. Happy Groundhog Day! /


End file.
